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Tips for Panther Point....??

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SightCast

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Posts: 234

10/8/2007 2:35 PM

Fall Fishing

Surface Plugs Working Now Terry McCrackin

- from Capt Chris Martin Bay Flats Lodge.com - PACK Sponsor

The freshwater setback to San Antonio Bay will be prolonged as Calhoun County continues to endure more than its fair share of rainfall amounts this fall season.

But all hope is not lost due to the small fact that some of the more remote areas of San Antonio Bay are still holding fair-to-good salinity levels - but most other areas remain completely fresh. And because of the nonexistence of the anticipated cool fronts we're accustom to during this time of the year the fishing patterns are almost that of springtime, where the coolness of the morning is still unable to prevail over that of the warm-to-hot afternoons. With all of this, and in conjunction with the higher than normal seasonal tides, I'm continuing to focus my efforts primarily in the areas situated deep within the heart of the back country. The back lakes have recently produced trout to 25", and I've determined that locating nervous mullet or diving brown pelicans to be key ingredients for success. Placing my parties along shorelines consisting of patches of grass beds has been my best bet for locating schools of mullet. And I've found the redfish in these out-of-the-way locales to be schooled-up tight to the shoreline, and usually populating some of the more murky water covering the grass and mud. The trout in these back regions are over the grass in the more decent green and clear water, but seem to still prefer some of the sandier bottom structure. The air and water temperatures have not fallen significantly, and the point to which the amount of heat absorbed and expelled by mud has not yet become a contributing factor for the trout. It's for this reason that I'm still locating the trout bite over sand/mud structure in the back areas, by means of both top-waters and plastics.

I've recently experienced some of my best days by starting with top waters and then slowly making the transition to plastics later in the morning. I'm throwing smaller baits in these secluded lakes because I feel it's important to downsize in order to imitate the small silver shad that are present in the bay system during this period - the orange back and chartreuse belly Skitter Walker Jr. is a good choice for top water action in clear water for trout and redfish alike. When it comes to plastics, my parties have been quite pleased with the results in their use of the Norton Sand Eels and Sand Eel Juniors rigged with a 1/8-ounce laser lock Norton jig head. I'm kind of partial to the Norton Bull Minnows myself, and have been realizing recognizable reward with my presentation of plum chartreuse.

As we head into October, there are other factors to take into consideration for those wishing to be proactive in their approach for success. Pay special attention to the fact that the days will be getting shorter, resulting in less sunlight hours each day. It is at this time of the year that I generally begin transitioning to the presentation of dark-colored lures, and will even start to experiment with some of the more common plastic suspending baits like the standard sub-surface B&L Corky, and its cousin the Fat Boy. Keep in mind the importance of the imagery of the bait's silhouette. These darker, suspending lures tend to imitate a silhouette more symbolic of that of a mullet vs. that of a shrimp, and the darker the silhouette will mean better reflection of the bait against the upward sunlight. The primary bite will come during the very early and very late sunlight hours, but with the days shortening, even the most infrequent fisherman should be able to take advantage of these time periods.